As part of its exciting new community investment strategy ‘The Discovery Project’, Santander UK is pleased to announce the launch today of The Discovery Foundation which will be at the heart of the Bank's community activities, providing grants to small charities and social enterprises working with disadvantaged people.
The Discovery Project, launched last month, aims to help people have the confidence to make the most of their future. The Discovery Foundation will support this by providing grants to fund skills, knowledge and innovation projects across the UK.
Discovery Grants of up to £5,000 are available to support three types of activity:
- Explorer: improving people's knowledge
- Transformer: supporting skills and experience
- Changemaker: innovative solutions to social challenges
Nathan Bostock, Santander UK CEO and Chair of Trustees, The Discovery Foundation, said: "We recognise that for many people this fast-paced world we live in is difficult to navigate. Through our new Discovery Grants we will support small, local charities to help them inspire people to have confidence in the future and access the opportunities the world has to offer."
The Discovery Foundation, which will launch on 1 March 2016, is the new working name of the Santander Foundation. Over the last five years, the Foundation has provided £25 million in funding to 12,600 UK charities and in 2016 a further £5 million will be available through Discovery Grants and Staff Matched Donations.
Discovery Grants will be available to UK registered charities, community interest companies and credit unions from 1 March. Funding can be used to cover part-time salaries, equipment or materials. More information is available at santanderfoundation.org.uk
Nominations can be made by customers, colleagues and community organisations by completing a Discovery Grants nomination form available in all Santander branches.
Over the next five years, the Bank aims to benefit one million people through The Discovery Project in local communities close to Santander’s branches, banking centres and offices.
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Media Enquiries
Sarah Webster: sarah.webster@santander.co.uk
020 7756 5533 / 07568 112529
Notes to Editors
The Santander Foundation's current schemes - SEDA, Community Pus, Learn & Grow and Money Skills - have been combined into the new Discovery Grants programme to make it simpler for smaller charities to apply for funding.
The Discovery Project aims to help 1 million people over five years from 2016-2020 through three areas of focus:
Explorer – helping people learn about the world around them
Transformer – guiding people through work focussed support and training
Changemaker – funding innovations that help society.
Santander UK's current community investment programmes including Santander Universities, Breakthrough, and the Charity of the Year scheme are being brought together with new initiatives including FutureWise, a schools programme to help children explore the future with confidence, and Discovery Labs, a series of short films looking at the big issues impacting the future, to create the new flagship.
Santander UK
Santander UK offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its 1|2|3 products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. The bank serves more than 14 million active customers with c. 20,000 employees and operates through 857 branches and 70 regional Corporate Business Centres.